Home Food Preservation Workshops ‘Preserve the Taste of Summer’

AMES, Iowa — As more Iowans take up gardening and pay attention to local foods, they also are showing a growing interest in safe food preservation. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is offering two workshops in November as part of Preserve the Taste of Summer, a new food preservation program.

Jody Gatewood and Holly Van Heel, ISU Extension nutrition and health specialists, will lead both workshops.

Learn safe, research-based methods for jams, jellies, fruit preserves and dehydrating during a workshop Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Greene County, 104 W. Washington Street in Jefferson. To register, call the Green County office at 515-386-2138. The registration deadline is Oct. 28.

Learn safe, research-based methods for pickle making during a workshop Saturday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community of Christ Church located at 1645 Pennsylvania Ave. in Des Moines. To register, call Jody Gatewood at 515-993-4281. The registration deadline is Nov. 14.

The workshops are the next step in the Preserve the Taste of Summer program, Gatewood explained. To participate in the workshop, participants must have already completed the related online Preserve the Taste of Summer classes.

Preserve the Taste of Summer includes eight online lessons that provide background information on safe food preservation. To participate in a hands-on workshop, a participant first must complete two online lessons on general food safety practices and canning basics along with one or two subject matter lessons.

“We want Iowans to gain the knowledge of safe food practices, which is why we have the general overview as a requirement,” Gatewood said. “We also want them to be able to identify safe recipes that are tested, as well as understand that there is a risk to food preservation. We want them to know the steps to avoid those risks.”

Van Heel added, “Our intent is that people will come to the hands-on workshop ready to can their foods, and not need two or three hours of discussion before we begin.”